Fun and Games
by AquilaTempestas
Summary: Families aren't magically born. Diego and Shira learn there are series of steps that must be taken beforehand, but it's never an easy road.


Families aren't magically born. Diego and Shira learn there are series of steps that must be taken beforehand, but it's never an easy road.

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Cubs. Four bundles of joy ran circles around his mate, causing him to grin. One of the cubs, the sole male, tripped over his feet. Diego rushed over to help the cub back up and gave it a gentle push forward. The cub wobbled slightly then chased after its sisters nipping at their heels. Diego chuckled; all fun and games now, but the games they played would help them become fine hunters later in life.

He never thought something like this would happen to him; he came from a battle-hardened pack of sabres designed to show no remorse and love, and now here he was with a family and a herd of vegetarians. He wasn't complaining; the joy he felt was unlike anything else he had experienced.

Shira rested on her side as the cubs continued to run circles around her. "In a few weeks they'll be learning how to hunt," she said, gazing up at Diego.

Mating had occurred a few months ago and it was quite a nerve wrecking experience for Diego. He had never been with a female before, but thankfully females were required to encourage the male. It didn't help he was being spied on by pesky opossums and a smelly sloth. But it was worth it. Diego nodded, dropping down on his belly to snuggle up beside her. "I'll take them on a hunting trip."

"Why does it have to be you?" she said a frown on her face.

"I know you're amazing, but I need to do something to," Diego said, nuzzling her neck. "You've done everything so far, cleaning the cubs, putting the cubs to sleep, feeding them..."

Shira licked his face in response. "You're a good mate."

"I know," he replied smugly. "I've got an idea in regards to hunting. Maybe they can practice on Sid? Payback for spying on us?"

"Sid as bait?" Shira shook her head. "I don't think he'll enjoy it that much."

"Nonsense, Sid is a natural with kids." But he knew as well as Shira did, the cubs were going to be brutal with the sloth. Soft cubs didn't get far in life. It might seem like play to all observers, but it was practice for survival when they reached adulthood. "And besides, they won't dare eat Sid. Who knows what disease they'll catch?" he added lightly, grinning at the blank expression on Shira's face. He licked the side of her neck purring softly. "I'm kidding; I'm not going to use my friend as bait. The cubs will tear him apart." But knowing Sid, the sloth would find some way to get into some form of trouble.

"What about the opossums? They're quick and agile; the cubs will learn well chasing after such prey."

Diego considered the idea. Crash and Eddie were quick and agile, but also slow in the heads. They'd be overjoyed to play with young cubs until they realized what they were in for. It was a solid plan and one Diego couldn't wait to test out. "I hope Ellie doesn't mind if we use them as target practice." Not that she would notice anyway; she was far too busy looking after Peaches and trading words with Manny.

"I'm sure the cubs will be excited to test their skills on pesky opossums."

"Crash and Eddie will be honoured."

The two sabres laughed at the thought. Although they were only four weeks old, the cubs were larger than the opossums. One cub could easily kill the fragile mammals if it wanted to. Crash and Eddie might've gotten on Diego's nerves at times, but they were friends and part of the herd. "We'll have to ensure the cubs do not harm them."

Shira nodded. "Sounds like a plan... but I don't think we need to worry much, the opossums smell."

"There are benefits to playing with dung after all... it does keep predators from eating them," Diego mumbled. He headed towards the cave entrance and said, "I'll let the opossums know." Within seconds, Diego was out of the cave and searching for the opossums. He didn't have to look for too long; the mammals were busy throwing – you guessed it – dung at each other. They laughed and chased each other around in circles then stopped when Diego approached them.

"Hey tiger, you wanna play with us?" Crash said, rolling up a ball of dung with his hands.

"All you have to do is grab some dung and throw it!" Eddie added, eyes flashing with mirth. He hurled his ball of dung at Crash who managed to evade the attack.

Diego held up a paw and shook it. "Not today, maybe some other time," he said, giving his usual response. The opossums shrugged and continued to play their little game, a fleck of dung landing on Diego's perfect golden coat. Instead of growling, Diego sat and flicked it off with an extracted claw. "Would you guys like to play with cubs?"

Crash and Eddie stopped again and looked at Diego with curious but excited eyes. "Sure Diego!" said Crash, dropping his piece of dung onto the ground.

Eddie nodded. "Yeah sounds awesome!"

Diego grinned, revealing a row of sharp teeth, but that didn't scare the opossums. "I'll be right back with them. Stay here." He turned around and retreated back to the den where Shira and the four cubs were waiting.

Shira greeted her mate with a lick then spoke, "So what did they say?"

"They said yes." Diego was glad the opossums were incredibly stupid; any smart mammal would know not to mess with baby cubs. At least the cubs would get some good hunting practice if they managed to keep their attention from drifting.

Shira glanced down at the four cubs sitting around her. "Okay, now remember what I told you just before – you can play, but no biting. They are not for eating understood?"

"Yes mama," the four cubs chorused.

"Now follow me outside the cave. Watch your step - you don't want to trip over and slide back down again," Shira said walking out of the cave. The four cubs followed her, tripping over their own feet and meowing, but with assistance from Diego the cubs made it out of the cave. Once outside, the cubs dived into the snow and rolled around, kicking their little legs and sending patches of snow flying into the faces of their parents. "They're very eager," Shira said, smiling.

"When was the last time you took them out of the cave?"

Shira looked thoughtful, trying to recall the last time she had taken the cubs for a walk. "Must have been over a week ago; we had a blizzard earlier this week, taking them outside in that weather would be fatal."

"Where do we play mama?" the male sabre said.

His three sisters rubbed up against Shira's legs, all three of them sharing the same fur as her. Only the male looked like Diego. "Do you see the opossums over there, running around in circles laughing? You can play with them." Shira gave the male a nudge. He stumbled forwards, regained his composure and rushed towards the opossums growling – well, meowing – as loudly as he could.

The opossums stopped their game and looked at the cub. "Aww isn't it cute?" Crash said.

"Let's play with it! Come and catch me tiger!" Eddie said throwing back his head in laughter as he ran circles around his brother.

The male cub bounded through the snow until he reached the opossums. He charged at Crash and flung his tiny body at the opossum, but failed to get anything but air. The opossum giggled and jumped out of the way. The cub meowed and stood up, planting his feet firmly into the snow. He mustered up his best intimidation glare but it looked rather like the puppy eyed look instead.

His sisters joined in the game, sprinting as best as they could towards the opossums. Two of the girls flung themselves at Eddie, but only collided with each other, whilst the third sister chased after Crash. She tripped over her own two feet and tumbled through the snow. "Lethal hunters aren't they?" Diego said, grinning.

Shira chuckled. "Oh they'll learn in time don't worry; Crash and Eddie should enjoy the moment. In a few more weeks the cubs won't be as gentle."

At this time and moment, Sid the sloth stumbled towards them. He looked at the two sabre parents then glanced at the cubs, a big wide smile crossing his face. "Oh I love games!" Before the sabre adults could react, Sid wobbled into the danger zone. The cubs attacked. The combined weight of four cubs bowled Sid over. "Aww thanks guys, I feel loved!"

Diego rolled his eyes, while Shira laughed at the comment. "Rather they saw him as danger and tried to attack him," Diego muttered. The cubs were now digging their blunt claws into Sid's sides causing the sloth to giggle and wriggle his legs. "He's enjoying it." This came to no surprise to Diego – Sid was a strange one.

Sid and the cubs continued to play until the opossums stormed over. "The cubs are to play with us Sid!" Crash said.

Eddie crossed his arms over his chest. "They're not for you to play with!"

"I'm sorry guys, but the cubs prefer me over you. I'm Uncle Sid," the sloth replied in between giggles. The cubs certainly had a way of tickling him.

The opossums glanced over at Diego and Shira. "Get him away! The cubs are ours!" Crash demanded.

"You can all play together," Diego replied.

"But the sloth smells!" Eddie whined.

Shira rolled her eyes. "By the way they are acting one would think they were newborns..."

While the opossums argued, Sid and the cubs continued to play. Playtime didn't last long however; the cubs were growing more excited and their attacks became more vicious. Two of the girls tackled Sid, whilst the third sister extracted her claws and dived onto him, digging her claws into his flesh. The male opened his mouth and bit Sid. Sid screamed, and it wasn't a shout of joy. "Ah they love Uncle Sid!" Sid said trying to keep a brave face, but the hurt in his tone gave it all away.

Diego sprinted over to Sid's side and watched as the other cubs sunk their growing teeth into the sloth's side. Now it hurt. Sid struggled to free himself, but he didn't want to hurt the cubs. "Stay still Sid," Diego said in a flat tone. He brought his head down towards the male cub, opened his jaw and grabbed the cub by the scruff of the neck. With caution, he pulled the cub away and lowered it to the floor. He did the same for the other three cubs. "What did your mother tell you?" he scolded, glaring at the cubs. "No biting."

The cubs hung their heads low, looking at the snow before their feet. Not one could meet the eyes of their father. "Sorry dada," the cubs muttered.

If the situation wasn't so serious, Diego would've nuzzled the cubs, but the sloth lay on the snow with multiple bite wounds on his stomach. "Sorry Sid."

Sid forced a grin. "It's all right... they... they're love bites."

Despite being in pain, the sloth still found a way to smile and find humour in his current state. Fortunately, the wounds were nothing serious. They would heal within a few days. The opossums decided playing with the cubs was a bad idea. Sid was a lot bigger than they were, but the cubs could flatten them.

The three female cubs turned their aggression on their father. Little feet clawed at his thick legs, but Diego didn't flinch. He then felt something collide into his hind right leg. Turning his head around, he noticed the male cub lying on the floor on his back. The collision had thrown the cub backwards. "Settle down," Diego said. Once again the cubs attacked him.

He thought about sprinting away, but knew he couldn't do that. After all, three cubs were currently latched to his legs while the other one thought Diego's short tail was something to attack. Shira trotted over to get a closer look, but stayed several feet away laughing at the sight. Even the opossums and Sid found humour in the situation. "Never knew Diego was such a family man," Crash said, falling onto his back with a hand on his stomach to control his laughter.

Eddie joined his brother, slapping the snow with both hands hysterical laughter escaping his throat. "Diego is soft!"

Diego didn't like being called soft, but it was true. He was a softie. Male adult sabres would discipline their cubs, but Diego didn't have the heart to get frustrated with them. They were far too cute to be mad at. After all, they were just having fu-"OW!" Diego roared, as teeth sunk into the back of his right hind leg.

Hearing the roar, the cubs fell back and huddled together. They tried to look innocent, but Diego knew one of them had bitten him. He glared at the young male sabre. "I am not for eating!" he scolded.

"But mama said you were soft. I wanted to see if that was true," the cub protested, his ears flat against his head.

Diego whipped his head in Shira's direction, a frown on his face. "Did you tell him I was soft?"

Shira tried to maintain an innocent look, but failed. A smile crossed her face. "Yes I did... I wasn't going to lie to him." She walked up to Diego's side and rubbed her head against his neck. "But I like you just the way you are." Crash and Eddie stuck their fingers down their throats and gagged, collapsing on the floor pretending to puke.

Diego purred at her touch. "I know you do." Gosh, she was beautiful. Just looking into her sapphire eyes eased the pain in his leg. Shira placed two paws on his stomach and pushed him over into the snow. The cubs took the opportunity to pounce on Diego. Crash and Eddie exchanged glances, and threw themselves onto Diego as well, not wanting to miss out on the fun.

"Don't start without me!" Sid declared, throwing his body onto Diego.

The male sabre had now snapped out of his love struck trance. He pushed himself off the ground, sending the cubs, Sid and the opossums falling. "Aw Diego, why do you have to be such a party pooper?" Crash complained.

Diego gave Shira a look that read, 'this wasn't part of the plan!' but Shira just smiled in response. It was amusing to see Diego in such a vulnerable position. "That's enough now dears," Shira said, looking down at the cubs. The cubs nodded and hurried over to their mother, rubbing their heads against her legs meowing.

Using the back of his claw, Sid wiped his eyes and sniffed. "That's so adorable!" he said. "I wish I had mini sloths..."

"What a frightening day that would be..." Diego said, but couldn't stop a smile crossing his features. Sid just needed to find a girl that could tolerate him for long enough. "You'll find her Sid; I bet she's out there waiting for you to show up."

"Yeah, we should find her. I mean you have a girlfriend, and Manny has a girlfriend... I think I should get one too," Sid said, looking up at the sky with a misty eye look on his face.

"I'm going to return to the cave, the cubs need some sleep after all that," Shira said, looking down at the cubs. All four of them yawned, and one of the girls fell to the floor in a heap. "Diego, help me carry them back." She lowered her head and picked up a cub and trotted back to the cave. Diego picked up the male and followed Shira. Once the two cubs were in the den, the two adults returned to retrieve the other two.

"That didn't go the way I thought it would," Diego said, dropping next to Shira.

"Just be thankful the cubs are young, any older and you'd have a severely wounded leg," Shira said, glancing at the small bite marks. She averted her gaze and turned to the male. "Now apologize to your father."

"But we were playing mama..."

Shira shook her head. "Apologize!"

The cub lowered his head and peered up at Diego. "Sorry dada."

"You're forgiven," Diego replied, reaching out a paw and rubbing the back of the cub's head. "Now get some sleep." The cub meowed and squeezed itself in between the sleeping sisters, tucking its body close to Shira's own to feed off her body heat. Diego rested his chin on his paws and yawned. "We're going to have to leave the cubs one day." The cubs couldn't remain with their parents for the rest of their lives, they would need to find their own packs and establish territory for themselves.

Shira placed her head against Diego's side and sighed. "I don't even want to think about them leaving us." She didn't like it, but she knew it was right. The cubs couldn't stay with them when they reached adulthood. She wondered how they would cope on their own in the wild. It was a big and scary place out there full of all sorts of dangerous animals.

"If we teach them right they'll be fine."

Being a first time parent was difficult, but rewarding and she knew more memorable moments were to come.


End file.
